FIVE SUSPECTS CHARGED IN MP ONG’ONDO WERE MURDER CASE

Five suspects have officially been charged with the murder of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were, nearly three months after he was shot dead near City Mortuary in Nairobi.
The accused — William Imoli Shigali alias Imo, Edwin Odour Odhiambo alias Machuani, Ebel Ochieng alias Dave Calo, Isaac Kuria Chege alias Kush, and Allan Omondi Ogola — are now facing joint murder charges following the consolidation of two separate cases.
Justice Diana Kavedza approved the consolidation at the High Court, allowing the five to be tried under a single file. The accused were presented before the court on Monday and denied the charges.
Three of the suspects — Imoli, Odhiambo, and Ochieng — had earlier been declared mentally fit to stand trial and had already taken plea. Kuria and Ogola are expected to take plea after undergoing psychiatric evaluation.
The court scheduled bond hearings for August 14 for the first three suspects and September 22 for Kuria and Ogola.
Meanwhile, two other individuals initially held in connection to the case — Dennis Sewe Manyasi and Walter Owino Awino — were released in early June and are expected to testify as state witnesses.
MP Ong’ondo Were was gunned down on April 30 in what detectives believe was a well-coordinated assassination involving a network of individuals, including a suspected hitman, rogue security personnel, and political operatives.
Police say one of the suspects, Isaac Kuria, was arrested while attempting to flee through the Isebania border, allegedly after disposing of the murder weapon.
The prosecution has lined up over 30 witnesses to testify as the case proceeds. The court has expressed a commitment to conclude the trial within four months.